Supreme Court set for power rate face-off

By Jomar Canlas/Manila Times

The Manila Electric Co (Meralco) and petitioners questioning its P4.15 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate increase face-off for the first time today as the Supreme Court (SC) opens deliberations on whether the hike is justified.

The Court has set the preliminary conference at 2pm where both parties will discuss issues to be taken up in the oral arguments on January 21.

Justice Marvic Leonen is the magistrate assigned to take the decision, on the case.

On Friday the SC ordered the petitioners to include power utilities as respondents.

The Energy Regulatory Commission and Meralco are the original respondents in the case. But the tribunal ordered the inclusion of the National Grid Corp of the Philippines (NGCP), Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp (Psalm), Philippine Electricity Market Corp (PEMC) as well as several power suppliers and generation companies (GenCos).

In its 241-page comment, Meralco blamed the rate increase to the increase of the generation charge imposed by its suppliers.

“In the case at bar, the GenCos, PEMC and NGCP are indispensable parties… (who) stand to be injured or benefited by the outcome of the consolidated petitions, which ultimately seek to permanently enjoin Meralco from recovering the automatic increase in generation charge and other pass-through adjustments in the total amount of P4.1474/kWh for the December 2013 billing month,” Meralco said.